“Letters Flying Upward”: Art and Artistry in the Death of R. Chaninah ben Teradion

• In Event: Eschatology and Divine Justice

Abstract

The martyrdom of R. Chaninah ben Teradion appears in its earliest form in in Sifrei Devarim 307. There it is the straight-forward tale of a man who accepts a terrible decree without questioning God. This paper argues that the editors of the Babylonian Talmud elaborate upon, rearrange, and craft the story into a sweeping narrative of stubborn resistance to Roman rule paired with a stoic acceptance of God’s judgment. The editors place the story of the execution of R. Chaninah ben Teradion in Bavli Avodah Zara 17b-18a between the tale of the arrest and miraculous acquittal of R. Elazar ben Perata and the near arrest and miraculous escape of R. Meir. Once R. Chaninah ben Teradion’s death is framed by other narratives in which the Rabbinic protagonists evade death, the question of why R. Chaninah ben Teradion does not escape is highlighted and problematized. Other themes are further complicated by the editors. R. Chaninah both deserves his fate and does not. His acceptance of his martyrdom is both celebrated and suspected. He refuses to hasten his death and yet he agrees to allow another to end his torment. The artistry of the story is clear, especially when its agenda is not.
This paper will examine other iterations of the story in Tractate Semachot 8:12 and Tractate Kallah and will argue that these versions precede the Bavli version and provide insight into the editing process of the Bavli. This paper claims that the editors of the Bavli used narrative to explore the pressing issues of their time. Should one submit to non-Jewish authorities? To what extent should calamities be understood as God’s justice, manifest? Is resistance to a decree akin to rejecting God’s judgment or is it God’s preference for Jews to employ any means necessary to survive? By taking up, and complicating, the story of the martyrdom of the tanna R. Chaninah ben Teradion, the editors of the Bavi tell a layered, subtle story that addresses the complex experience of Jews under foreign rule.

author

• Wendy Aviva Amsellem, New York University